It is known to use a fixation splint for immobilizing the hand joint, the thumb and the other fingers. Such an immobilization is recommended after operations, fractures luxations and overstretches. A mobilization splint is used for recovering the mobility of members, in particular of finger joints, more specifically of thumb joints. A combined fixation and mobilization splint offers the advantage of individually accelerating the healing and adapting process for each member.
In Swiss Patent No. 590 664 there is described a hand and finger orthesis (support for maintaining the hand or the fingers in their usual position with regard to the arm or the palm of the hand). However, that support is only a training device, intended for exercising the various movements of the fingers. These movements are made possible by suspending the fingers on threads only, without any support. However, this suspension prevents fixing a position of the hand or the fingers that promotes the healing process. In addition the threads are suspended from an elastic spring which even promotes the uncontrolled movements and thus further decreases the healing process.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,719,906 there is described a combined fixation and mobilization splint which comprises a support member for each bone of the finger, including the thumb, the support member being attached to the respective member of the finger by a suitable catch such as e.g. a burr-type catch. The members belonging to a particular finger are connected to each other by means of screws so that the required angle can be adjusted for each support member after having loosened the respective screws by means of a screwdriver. Then the angle of each member with regard to the adjacent one will be set again. The disadvantage of this adjustment resides in the fact that for each joint between adajacent members two screws have to be fastened, a method which has proven to be complicated in practice since for each finger there are three members with a total of six screws which have to be adjusted separately and relatively to each other. In addition the weight of the entire splint which is made of steel becomes uncomfortable for the bearer.